Love Live! - Animal Talk!
by StormRex Lancer
Summary: When an accidental whiff one of Rorolina Frixell's synthesized solutions caused their voice to develop animal cries of a sheep and a cat, Kotori and Rin found themselves in a cocktail of confusion, laughs, and sometimes even important lessons along the way! Atelier Arland Trilogy Series and Love Live! Crossover! pls R&R :)
1. Kotori and Rin - Animal talk!

_**Love Live: Animal Talk!**_

_**Chapter 1: Kotori and Rin - When animals talk!**_

Kotori and Rin opened the door to Rorona's Atelier back in the world of Arland.

"Hey there, Rorona!" Rin shot out.

"Aie? Oh, hey there Kotori and Rin, welcome to my Atelier! What brings you here?" Rorona wore an excited smile upon her face.

"Eh, Rorona, don't you know our request last month?" Kotori wondered.

"Let's see...oh yeah! Do you mean the synthesis request for the vitality restoration drink? Sure thing!" Rorona smiled as she went into the storage room in the basement. _"It's going to take just a second here while I call for the Homs to carry a crate each!"_

"Okie! We will just take a look at your Atelier for a while!"

_"Alright, just don't touch anything! They are very, VERY important!" _Rorona shot out.

Rin looked around Rorona's atelier. It was filled with multiple ingredients, baskets, plants and several flasks with pipes connecting one another. A large cauldron was positioned just above the fireplace where dried wood burn, emitting smoke out into the chimney. Bubbly purplish liquid was simmering inside it, giving of a soothing, aromatic smell of a carnelian.

"Wow...just...wow...I still can't imagine Rorona's atelier to be filled with so much things!" Kotori's eyes widened as she looked around, impressed with the amount of things inside.

Rin, being the usual curious girl, looked around and incidentally set her eyes on a transparent pear-shaped flask with a rainbow-colored liquid.

"Say...what is this colourful flask? Looks beautiful!" Rin raised her eyes in curiosity as she approached the flask, attracted by the wafting aroma of the rainbow liquid. "I wonder what this flask does; it smells nice!"

"Eh, Rin, Rorona told us not to touch anything though. Remember the explosion last time during her synthesis practices at the beginning of her career?" Kotori shivered.

"Aie, don't worry! That's like...twenty four years in her world or twenty four months back in our world before the diplomacy takes full effect weeks ago! Besides, what could possibly go wrong?" Rin grinned as she brought the flask close to her nose and took a sniff.

"Wow...smells like lavender! Nice!" Rin's eyes drooped, enjoying the soothing smell wafting from the opened flask.

"Really? Lavender? I wanna smell it!" Kotori's eyes lit up as she rushed over to Rin to have a whiff.

"Ah...smells good!" both girls were enjoying the aromatic smell, but their minds snapped when they heard some footsteps shuffling through the staircases.

"Careful there Hommy and Hommia, they are very fragile!" Rorona's warning echoed through the attic.

"R...Rorona's back! Quick, get it close with the cork!" Honoka replied eagerly as she snatched the wooden cork that act as the flask's lid and closed it. Rin managed to place the potion back in the alchemist table back in time before Rorona showed up, along with her Homs.

"Eh? You looked very anxious now...what happened?" Rorona wondered.

"N..Nothing! We're just astounded at how much progress you have made during the time we're in your world! I mean...your room is filled with so many things!" Kotori laughed sheepishly.

"Nah...you're flattering me, but I digress. There you go! Three small crates of stamina drinks specially concocted by me; should be enough to hold out for at least half a year, yes?" Rorona grinned.

"Thanks, Rorona! That should make meeeeooowww!" Rin grinned, but shortly gasped and covered her mouth as soon as she mewed!

"W...What the heck just happened? I _**MEOWed?**_" Rin broke into a cold sweat.

"Rin, is that one of your cat tricks again?" Kotori wondered.

"No, Kotori, I swear! I PURRobably don't know..." Rin covered her mouth once more.

"MEEP, don't try to..." Kotori chuckled, but froze in shock as she realised that she was not laughing...but _**braying!**_

Rorona's eyes glared at both girl and slapped her palm on her forehead...

"Nonononono! What have you done?!" Rorona moaned.

"We're...we're just taking a whiff off that BAAAAear-shaped flask of yours; and...and it smells BAAAAAHHHrrry nice..." Kotori shook her head and she covered her mouth once more, realising that she was braying again.

"That flask was sealed for a reason! One of my customers' farm animals lost their voices and so I synthesised that potion to restore them! Just a whiff is enough to cause living things to give out animal vocals depending on their personalities and typing. It's also why I always have a surgeon's mask on whenever I began synthesising more of those rainbow-colored liquids!" Rorona chided.

"Within a few hours time, your voices will be mostly peppered with animal languages..." the female Homunculus explained.

"WHAT?!" Kotori and Rin's eyes shrunk in horror. "YOU MEAN WE MIGHT BE ANIMALS?!"

"There's no antidote unfortunately..." Rorona shook her head, shrugged, and sighed. "The potion might wear off in a few days...so...I'm afraid you will just have to roll with it..."

_"Crap..." _Kotori and Rin looked at each other and their eyes became squiggly; tears flowing out of their eyes in wavy lines.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!"


	2. It gets worse!

_**Chapter 2: It gets worse!**_

_**Back in Arls**_

"Hey everyone, Kotori and Rin is back with the stamina drink!" Honoka shot out.

"Well about time! I thought they might wander off to some place and got lost!" Maki pouted.

"We should help them; they are probably not strong enough to carry them all on their now, wouldn't it?" Nozomi simpered as she rushed off to help the two idols.

"Right, lets!" Honoka nodded as Team Muse rushed along.

As Kotori and Rin saw the Team Muse Members rushing to help them with the small crates, their hearts sank.

"Whatnyah'ver we do, let's nyaot reveal to 'em nyet!" Rin purred, while scratching her head.

Kotori could only nod in embarrassment as her hazel eyes drooped.

After lending a hand to Hanayo and Rin with the crates, Nozomi gave a puzzled look; they saw Kotori and Rin to be quiet and fidgety.

"Eh? Kotori and Rin, you don't seem to be in the best of spirits...What happened?" Nozomi wondered.

"Eh? Nyaaahthing! Nyahthing!" Rin shook her head, scratching her hair and laughing sheepishly.

"Nyahthing? You mean 'nothing', Rin-chan?" Hanayo wondered.

Rin could only nod and grinned sheepishly.

"You looked like you're hiding something; it's too obvious to see through it..." Nozomi gave a naughty grin as she groped Kotori's breasts; much to the latter's shock. "So what was it, eh?"

Kotori tried her very best to suppress any attempts to speak, but Nozomi's quick groping forced a bleat out of the former's mouth.

_**"BAAAH!"**_

Nozomi gasped, her eyes widened in amusement as she loosened her grip upon Kotori's chest. "W...Wait...Kotori, did you just bleat?"

Kotori shook her head and waved her right hand. "N...No! You must be hearing things!"

"Aw c'mon, every one of us had heard it loud and clear; it's coming from your mouth!" Maki pouted.

"I heard nyaaahhthing!" Rin tried denying it, but she blurted 'nyah' once more. Nozomi and Honoka chortled.

"Okay, this is getting weird! Rin, you clearly gave off a cat's cry, and Kotori is giving a sheep's bleat! What happened? Did something happen over at Rorona's house, or did the Animal Series pictures we posed for a week ago influenced you both?" Nico wondered.

Kotori gave off a sigh, which turned out to be a soft bleat instead. Honoka embraced the soft-spoken idol immediately.

"Waahhh...Kotori, since when is your bleating that cute?" Honoka shot out as she gave a small peck upon Kotori's cheek, making her blush madly.

_**After telling Team Muse about the incident**_

"What?! A potion which induces animal voices by just a simple sniff and you caught that scent?" Umi Sonoda's jaws dropped.

"One of Rorona's customers requested for nyah potion...The customers' animals seemed to lose nyah voices due to cold and needed treatment so...nyeeah..." Rin shook her head while ruffling her hair with her right hand.

"That's...not going to go well, isn't it? Our recording session for the third Animal Series single is coming up in two days time. Though I have to admit, Kotori's bleat is kinda cute!" Nozomi gave a sly grin.

"Beehh?" Kotori's eyes widened in shock.

"Quit teasing Kotori and Rin already! Like you said, the recording session is within two days; you mentioned that the effects are for a few days, right?" Umi wondered.

Kotori and Rin nodded.

"Great...where's Astrid-sama when you need her? A fine time to head to the Arland plains to search for ingredient; we don't even know the exact coordinates!" Umi sighed.

"Aw c'mon, that would make Kotori even attractive with that cute voice of hers! Just imagine, Kotori in the Animal Series sheep costume going 'baaah' in her trademark cute voice, and Rin in her usual neko costume!" Honoka shook her head and gave a sheepish smile.

The idols' mind, Kotori and Rin excluded, drifted towards an image of Kotori in her woolly sheep costume, green ribbons beside her skirt, two ram-like horns on the hair band's side, a midriff, and a large wool clump as her 'tail'. Their minds than shifted towards Rin wearing a neko costume licking her hand, waggling her cat's tail and going 'nyah'.

"That's unbearably cute!" Honoka's eyes became sparkly.

"Well...it's kinda strange for humans to adopt animal voices but...I will be lying if I can't see the charm!" Nico chuckled.

"But the recording..." Umi wondered.

"It's only a few days, right? Besides, what could possibly go wrong? It's not as if they are going to speak anything that will probably rhyme with 'nyah', 'meow, or a bleat! At least...I don't think any lyrics in our new single will rhyme with that..." Nozomi chuckled.

"W...Wait, are you not considering any cure?" Won't that be baaaahdd?" Kotori broke into a cold sweat.

"It's not as if we have a choice. Besides, there's no cure at the moment..." Umi sighed and shrugged wistfully. "I don't think it's going to be THAT bad, though. Like Chris-sempai said - 'it could be worse!'."

Just then, Rorona called Umi through the Holograph Communicator.

"Hi there, Team Muse! I suppose you have acquired the crates containing the stamina drinks I have concocted thus far?" Rorona greeted.

"Yeah, thanks for the beverages you have concocted!" Honoka nodded.

"Um...Rorona, about the voice altering potion that Kotori and Rin sniffed..." Umi wondered in worry.

"Oh...it seems that Kotori and Rin have told you about theincident...ehheheh...Well, I hope you can forgive my clumsiness; it might just get...kindaaa worse..." Rorona sheepishly scratched her head and gave a soft, uncomfortable laugh.

"W...Wait, what? Whaddya mean, 'worse'?" Umi shot out.

"Um...Umi...I think Rorona is right..." Hanayo softly tapped on Umi's shoulders as they turned their attention towards Rin, who was scratching her head in a cat-like manner and licking her wrist!

"K..Kotori? What happened? Stop nibbling at my skirts! Oi!"

Team Muse turned their attention towards Honoka and Kotori, where the latter was on all fours and nibbling at the former's red skirt!

When Kotori looked at them with dreamy, hazel brown eyes, all Kotori could blurt was...

_**"BAAAAHHH!"**_

Team Muse's members looked at one another, bewildered.

Maki's eyes widened in shock and shot out, "What the heck happened?"

"Well...apparently my concoction might be a bit too strong on that one...I was supposed to add three teaspoons of _**fine **_lavender powder but I added _**three and a half **_instead...oops..." Rorona apologised meekly.

"So now they are acting like animals instead of SOUNDING like one?!" Nico gasped.

"Within thirty minutes...which I'm afraid...is starting now..." Rorona sighed. "Sorry! I'm really sorry that I left the flask on the table in the first place! Should have kept it in a safe locker or something...but I think the effect shouldn't take more than a few days!"

Rorona gave a sheepish smile. "I have to refine the formulae for the customer who requested the concoction now, buh-bye! And sorry once again!"

"Rorona! Hey, Rorona! You get back here this instant!" Maki shot out in anger, but the line was cut.

After the line ended, Team Muse looked at one another with their jaws on the floor. No one spoke a word.

"So silent, that it seemed as if a cold wind froze them on the spot. The only sound they could hear was a soft bleating sound from Kotori, who was still nibbling at Honoka's skirt.

_**"BAAAAH!"**_

_**AN: Thanks for the follows thus far :) Next up is Chapter 3!**_


	3. Kotori the Sheep!

_**Chapter 3: Kotori the Sheep**_

_**Adventurers Agency - Arland DImension**_

_**Receptionist Corner**_

"Geez...not another one of those stupid concoction requests again..." Cordelia shook her head as she facepalmed. "Granted, Kotori and Rin brought this upon themselves but...Rorona is concocting those alteration potions again?"

"HEY! Whaddya mean 'they brought this upon themselves'? If it ain't for Rorona concocting that kind of potion, this wouldn't have happened!" Maki flared up.

"Oi! Don't 'HEY!' me! It's not as if Rorona have any other choice; she's fulfilling an important request while fulfilling YOUR stamina drinks' request! She might have accidentally added a bit too much lavender because she's tired!" Cordelia pouted.

"Look, let's not argue about it! What done is already done, we might as well figure out a way to fix either an antidote or try to cover up their animalistic personalities!" Nico interjected. "Besides, it's not as if we have any other choice, right?"

"I think we have to call Chris and Alito over..." Cordelia sighed and shook her head. Both Chris and Alito were producers and planners for Team Muse's schedule.

"NO!" the present Team Muse members shot back instantly.

"Well, why not? We might as well try something to remedy the situation or else your recording session and photo shoot will go bust!" Cordelia chided.

"Chris and Alito were busy with the upcoming presentation in Audi's headquarters; we shouldn't just go barge in halfway through, right?" Nico replied.

"Oh, for the love of..." Cordelia sighed and shrugged. "It's pointless in asking Rorona for a cure too; by the time she manufactures any antidote the animalistic effects will have faded, so what's the point?"

The pale blonde receptionist and the present Muse's members walked back to the receptionist desk when they saw a startling scene.

"Paper...I wonder if it's _**baaaahry**_ nice..."

Kotori was seen munching ahead at some blank pieces of paper on Cordelia's desk!

"THAT'S MY PAPER!" Cordelia snapped as she ran to stop Kotori.

"_**BAAAAAHHHH!"**_

However, Kotori jumped high over Cordelia.

"What the heck? How can she jumped so high?!" Honoka's jaw dropped.

Kotori landed behind Cordelia, brayed, and kicked the latter just as she turned over!

"AAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Cordelia was thrown all the way past the present Muse's members, Filly, some guards, over a chandelier, through the hallway, and into a tall bookshelf containing the basic guides to adventuring!

_***CRASH!***_

Cordelia groaned as she tried to get out of the smoke-filled pile of debris and bookshelf's remains...

"Heeeeyyyy...are those stars? I can see...Saturn and...uhhhh..." she fainted.

"Oh great, now thanks to Cory, Kotori has took off into god knows where! We have to search for her!" Umi shook her head.

"Let's search for Kotori; she may not have gone far!"Nico replied as the present Team Muse members ran off.

_**Arland marketplace**_

"Kotori?! KOTORI! KOTORI?!" Nico screamed.

"Maybe she might wander off into the plains by herself?" Honoka shivered.

"Don't be silly, Honoka!" Nico scolded. "She would not have gone that far..."

_"You girls seemed troubled; is something the matter?" _

The present idols' spines chilled when they heard a slightly gruff, yet familiar male voice.

"S...S...Sterk?!" Nico shivered.

The idols turned around and Nico's deduction was correct. The Scary Knight of Arland, Sterkenburg Cranach, always had an infamous reputation for having a scary, gruff-like face.

"GUH!" the idols jumped out of their skins as they fell on the floor, scared stiff.

"Are you okay there?" Sterk wondered softly.

Maki snapped, "OI! Next time, don't sneak up on us as if you are planning to assassinate us or some shit! It's a good thing we have met you quite some time during our twenty-four years in this dimension!" (Twenty-four months back in Chris's world.)

Sterk sighed and shook her head. "And I thought Rorona was scared; am I really that scary? I mean...Gino, Chris, and Alito ain't scared the first time round..."

"Gino is your disciple; Chris and Alito have allied with the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse! No surprise; thanks Captain Bloody Obvious!" Maki snarled.

"Hey, hey...what about Kotori? No point getting caught up by Sterk's trademark scariness..." Umi called out.

"Wait...Kotori? Do you mean the pale blonde girl who was seen wandering about Sunset Cafe in a sheep-like manner?" Sterk wondered.

Umi, Nico, Honoka, and Maki's eyes widened. "Wait, WHAT?"

The idols and Sterk made their way to the Sunset café without hesitation, where they saw Kotori braying and tugging at a piece of almond cake - a baby sheep's favourite food.

_**"BAAAAAHHH!" **_Kotori brayed softly.

"Well...I saw Kotori wandering about the Sunset Cafe just now, looking lost and hungry. I brought her something to eat and figured that you might be searching for her after she told me - between brays - that she ran off after being scared stiff by Cordelia. Why is it that Kotori became sheep-like?" Sterk wondered.

_**A few minutes of pacifying later**_

Kotori cuddled and nibbled stalks of celery sticks curling on a sofa by the waiting room on the Adventurers Republic's second floor.

_**"Baaaaahhh..." **_Kotori continued nibbling upon her celery stalks as Honoka rubbed her cheeks with the former's.

"Waaahhh...you're so fluffy and cute, Kotori!" Honoka grinned.

"So...Rorona must have been a bit clumsy once again, huh?" Sterk sighed and shook his head. "Could be worse; at least it's not an explosion."

"We will just have to take care of Kotori and think of something to hide her sheep-like behaviour should it not come off by the photo shoot." Umi sighed.

"The problem is that Kotori is not just acting like a sheep, she IS a sheep. She is going to wander around be lost in this bustling republic. With Arls and Arland in a merger with your world, it will be troublesome finding Kotori if she ever wanders off again." Sterk warned calmly.

The idols present mused about the preventive measures they could take to prevent Kotori from getting lost...

"We must take turns to take care of her then...god knows if she might wander off any moment. I mean, a sheep tends to be lacking in direction." Maki sighed.

"Mister Sterk, maybe you can help in escorting Kotori if you have the time?" Umi requested.

"Well...I will find the time, you can have my words." Sterk nodded without hesitation.

_**Next episode - The Cat and Rin!**_


	4. The Cat and Rin!

_**Chapter 4: The Cat and Rin - Cordelia's not-so-great day!**_

_**Meanwhile , at the same time when Umi, Maki, Nico, and Honoka were finding Kotori...**_

_**(Camera placed on top-half of Eri and Nozomi; full body shot for Rin and Hanayo.)**_

Eri's body slumped on a long sofa situated on the long hallway at the Adventurers Guild's second floor, giving a long and exhausted sigh as she wiped off the sweat from her forehead.

"Meeeewww..." Rin mewed as she licked her ' right paw' - or right hand - and ruffled her short, orange hair.

"Well...Rin's a cat now...at least for a few days..." Eri looked in amusement.

"Nyaaahhh..." Rin crawled towards Hanayo; the former rubbed her cheeks on the latter's legs, purring softly.

Hanayo softly patted her best friend on her head, sighing and blushing in content.

"C;mon now, Eri-chii...it might not be that bad. I mean, Rin likes to be cat-like most of the time; ain't that a wish come true for her?" Nozomi chuckled softly.

"Now that you said it...yeah, but I still got a bad feeling about this." Eri shrugged.

"Why?" Nozomi wondered.

"Well, for starters, cats love to scratch stuffs, especially curtains." Eri replied.

"Yes?" Nozomi nodded.

_**(Camera zooms out, revealing Eri and her current skirt.)**_

"And that's why she nearly tore off my damn skirt just a few minutes ago!" Eri raised her skirt, only to have the tattered bits flowed with the gentle breeze that wafted from the windows.

"But that means she likes you!" Nozomi chuckled.

"Run this by me again?" Eri rolled her eyes. "Especially when we have to chase Rin as she ran around the Adventurers Guild's second storey; scratching on every wallpaper, curtains, and wooden cupboards that she can find!"

Nozomi saw the hallway and chuckled sheepishly; it was indeed in tatters, with the tattered remains of her 'victims' all over the place.

"C'mon now...those curtains are admittedly old and the cleaners in here said that they were replacing those soon days ago. Relax!" Nozomi replied.

Eri let loose a deep sigh as she shook her head, stretched her arms, and yawned.

"Yeah, right...Having us chasing Rin all through the second floor is just...uhhhh...tiring..." Eri sighed as she slept on one of the wide armchairs across the walkway.

"True..." Nozomi yawned softly as she softly close her eyes and lay her head beside Eri while sitting on the floor. "Won't be a few hours till Chris and Alito-sempai are back, so...zzzzz..."

Hanayo yawned too; chasing after Rin did indeed drained her a lot. After all, the brunette was not an athletic girl by any means.

_"Meeew?"_

Rin looked around, softly mewed, and nudged Hanayo's left hand to no response.

"Nyaaa? Nyaaa..." Rin's cat-like eyes drooped as she her body squirmed bit by bit, loosening Hanayo's soft grip on Rin's back with each squirm.

"Nyaaaaro?" Rin tilted her head, gazing over at the staffs running about, giving commands, and helping out with the adventurers' administration matters.

"Nya!" Rin leapt over the ledge, landed upon the first floor with ease, and stretched her back on all fours; much to the shock and surprise that the adventurers gave.

_"What is that?"_

_"Some adventurer leaping off a ledge like a cat? How can she do that?"_

_"She's so cute!"_

_"How can she leap off without getting injured?"_

_"She's acting like a cat, or is she one? So confused..."_

Rin looked around and tilted her head. "Nyaaah?"

_"Oww...okay, okay, what's going on there? What's the commotion about?" _

Cordelia, who had recovered several minutes earlier, rubbed her sore back as she cleared off the small crowd and set her eyes upon Rin.

"Okay, okay! Whatever just happened please let in some air for Rin please? It's getting really squeezy!" Cordelia shot out.

The beautiful glint from Cordelia's emerald necklace caught Rin's sharp, instinctive eyes. The latter gave a long, hard, but affectionate gaze at Cordelia's necklace.

"Um...Rin? What are you doing? Why are you eyeing at my necklace?" Cordelia's eyes widened.

"Fuaaaahh..." Rin's eyes glinted with interest; opening her mouth in anticipation as she slowly crawled over to Cordelia, waiting to pounce at a given opportunity.

It did not take Cordelia long enough to figure out that Rin was not gazing at her, but _her necklace that Rorona gave her as a birthday present!_

"H...Hey! That necklace is mine; it's Rorona's gift!" Cordelia waved her right hand to keep Rin off, but to no avail.

"Nyyyaaaaahhhh...Meeeeooow!" Rin continued to make some fake pounces, faking Cordelia out in the process as she flinched and fell on her butt.

"Ow...not again..." Cordelia winced; her eyes widened just as she saw Rin shivering in glee while making her way towards the former.

"Look...we can talk this over with! Rin? Earth to Rin? Can you hear...KYYAAAAHHH!"

_"NYAAAAAAHHH!"_

Rin, unable to resist the allure from Cordelia's necklace, made a strong pounce upon a frightened Cordelia.

The fight woke Hanayo, Eri, and Nozomi up as they rubbed their eyes and yawned.

"Why the scream...? Eh? Where's Rin?" Eri shot out.

_***CRASH!***_

Hanayo, Eri, and Nozomi's eyes became squiggly with surprise and amusement when they saw a cloud of dust coming their way with Rin and Cordelia pouncing atop each other to gain an advantage.

_"THEY ARE MINE!"_

_"NYAAAAAROOO! NYAAAAAHHH!"_

_"NEVER!"_

_"MIIINNNEEE!"_

_"NNONONONONO!"_

_"Rin wants! NYAAAAAHHH!"_

_"Cordelia says no! You hear! KYAAAAHH! STOP SCRATCHING MY BRAIDS YOU FELINE!"_

Nozomi broke out laughing; "Now this...this is a catfight!"

_***BA-TUM-TISH!***_

Eri and Hanayo looked at Nozomi with disinterested eyes.

"What?" Nozomi wondered and shrugged.

Both Cordelia and Rin stood on opposing sides; their breathing became deep ragged; their eyes glowed with frustration and anger as the ground shook with erupting blue auras.

"Cory? Rin? Now's not the time to..." Eri made her way to the 'battlefield' to initiate a tiebreaker but...

_**"NO!"**_

_**"NYAAAAAOOO!" **_

"GUUUUHH! O...O...Okaayyy...owww...my ears..." Eri winced as she covered her ears.

Just as the fight seemed to go nowhere, Rin suddenly stopped fighting as a wafting aroma raised her head in interest.

"Nyaaaa? Meeeeoooww!"

Her eyes perked and glowed with excitement, as she took off in the aroma's direction.

"That smell...isn't it ramen? Who would cook it?" Eri wondered.

_"Woah...woah! Hang in there, there is no point in being a glutton. Hahaha..." _a familiar, gentle, lady-like voice caught the Cordelia, Eri, Nozomi, and Hanayo's attention.

"Chris!" Hanayo shot out in relief.

The crowd died down as the girls approached Chris and Alito, just as Rin was scoffing down the takeaway Ramen voraciously.

"About time, Chris and Alito! I nearly got myself into a dirty catfight there!" Cordelia chided.

"Well...better to be late than never..." Alito chuckled.

"We figured that you all might be too busy to go out for lunch, so we bought some takeaway food for you all after we're done with the presentation. What happened, though?" Chris wondered. Chris and Alito were also same-sex married female couple.

"Umm...let's just say...Rorona done goof..." Hanayo sighed.


	5. Cordelia vs Kotori and Rin!

_**Chapter 5: Cordelia vs Kotori and Rin!**_

_**After Umi and company came back with Kotori and Sterk...**_

"So...Rorona created a potion and done goof when Kotori and Rin became curious, huh?" Chris sighed.

"Yeah...that." Umi sighed.

"I could make an antidote. Then again, as Cory predicted, it will take a few days to manufacture one; potion's effect might be gone by then." Chris shrugged.

"We are planning to take care of it and Sterk promised to find time, but given Kotori's tendencies to kick things when frightened..." Maki looked at the Scary Knight.

Sterk shook his head. "Look, I will not get Kotori into trouble, okay? I mean, the pigeons aren't scared of me..."

"Ever heard of bird brains?" Maki chided.

"Sterk ain't even scary at all, to be honest..." Chris chuckled.

"Coming from a person who earned the _**Pale Rider's respect years ago...**_" Maki gave a disinterested look.

"Look...look, Kotori won't jump off her skin under us, you can have our words." Alito chuckled.

"What about Rin? She loved to chase birds; cats love doing that, right?" Nico worryingly replied.

"Well, Sterk ain't gonna be taking care of those two 24/7, right?" Cordelia wondered.

"Taking care of animals ain't easy...If you think they are because they are cute, you're in a world of wrong." Sterk warned, with Chris and Alito nodding calmly.

"Yeah, I bet those animals must have gone 'Blue Screen of Death' the moment they saw you..." Maki pouted.

"Could you please stop referencing my 'scary' face?" Sterk sighed.

"The day your face ain't scary, will be the day Hell froze..." Maki replied.

Sterk facepalmed.

"Oi...stop with those 'Sterk's face is scary' thing." Umi chided. "Jokes aside, Sterk said the truth; it's not gonna be easy now that Kotori and Rin are humans with animalistic tendencies. Why don't we work out a time-table?"

"Sounds like a good idea." Sterk nodded.

"Might as well get organised." Chris agreed.

"No thanks..." Cordelia shook her head. "I don't want Rin to snatch at my necklace again...especially after she tore off my precious light-brown shirt jacket!"

"Nyaaa..." Rin embraced Cordelia by her legs and gazed at her with sad, feline eyes and a pouted mouth.

"No!" Cordelia shook her head and grunted, but she took a sneak peek at Rin and saw wobbly, teary eyes from the cat-girl herself.

_"M...Miii...Miiioww?" _

A strange sense of warmth grabbed the pale blonde's heart as she gritted her teeth, frowned, and threw her hands up in the air...

"BOLLOCKS! I give in..." Cordelia shook her head as she clenched her fists and veins bulged from her forehead. "That Rorona is so gonna get it..."

"But what about the photo and recording session? It's going to take place in about three days time. We don't even know the exact amount of days it takes for the potion's effects to fade." Honoka replied.

"No worries...remember that I have the possession ability by using Project Tundra's Rune of Absolution and Alito's Rune of Wind?" Chris smiled.

"If that's the case, at least we have something to breathe about." Umi sighed in relief.

_**An hour later**_

Cordelia gritted her teeth, pretending to smile as she sat upon the receptionist's desk to continue her work...

"Why...in all of Arland...do I have to agree to this?" she mumbled.

As it turned out, the group agreed to let Cordelia to take care of both Rin and Kotori for the first few hours - four hours, to be exact...

_"Just calm down...two hours of receptionist work, and it will be all over. I can take care of them in private...and I will show 'em!" _she thought, just as she reached for a feather pen.

"Crap...where is the feather pen?" Cordelia cursed.

Kotori the Sheep looked around and saw a feather-like object beneath Cordelia's desk.

_**"Baaahhh..." **_Kotori curiously stick her head beneath Cordelia's skirt, much to the latter's shock.

Knowing that Kotori would kick her if frightened, Cordelia softly scolded, "OI! You perv!"

However, Kotori swiftly pulled out from beneath the desk and held a feather pen upon her mouth.

"That's...my pen..." Cordelia's cheek flushed as she quickly took it away from Kotori's mouth.

"T...Thanks...I guess..." Cordelia replied hesitantly.

"Meeee..." Kotori brayed softly, gave a sweet smile, and rubbed her left cheek on Cordelia's right foot. The guild receptionist felt a strange sense of warmth inside her as she blushed and sighed.

_"Well...maybe it won't be THAT bad after all; for Kotori at least..."_

Cordelia turned to her left and saw Rin acting as a maneki-neko; standing at the Guild's entrance while beckoning with her left paw.

"Nyaaaaa...Nya!" Rin tilted her head from left to right, giving a cute cat-like smile and attracting adventurers.

_"Well...There have been reports of rookie adventurers from other regions getting lost on their way to find the guild..." _Cordelia thought, and sighed.

"Miss Cordelia?" said one curious adventurer.

"Huh? Uh...Oh! Sorry, I was just thinking about some personal stuff! You wanted to rank up, you say?" Cordelia simpered.

_"Thank goodness...I thought we're going to be lost here!"_

_"That cat-like girl is beckoning us over; we must be in the right place!"_

_"She's really cute!"_

_"Mommy...can I pat her head, please?"_

_"Meeeeooowww...purrr..." _Rin gave a bright smile and ruffled her fur.

Cordelia could feel a huge sense of warmth creeping into her heart; a strange sense of happiness that she could not describe with just words alone.

_**Two hours later...**_

"Great job, everyone! Let's call it a day!" Cordelia shot out and simpered.

Cordelia stretched her arms and yawned as she looked at Kotori. The former's face softened and she simpered; Kotori was lying on the floor, sleeping peacefully and giving a soft bray occasionally.

Rin stretched her limbs and gave off a loud meow as she crawled over to a resting sofa beside the receptionist's desk. Cordelia approached Rin and gave a deep sigh as she took out a small purple sweet capsule.

"Here...just a way of saying 'thanks'...You have helped a lot to direct the new adventurers to the Guild..."

"Nyaaa..." Rin rubbed her cheeks on Cordelia's right hands and ate the sweet before falling asleep with a coy smile on her face.

As Cordelia patted Rin's head softly, her mind began to muse on about animals.

The guild receptionist simpered as she took out her small book and began writing on her small book with her feather pen.

_"Dear Diary,_

_I always thought animals were always a nuisance to take care of; cats, dogs, and things just running about and causing a ruckus every single freaking time._

_However...ever since taking care of Rin the Cat and Kotori the Sheep, I am having an epiphany here. Maybe the main problem of why animals are a bitch to take care does not lie with them..._

_Maybe...it lies with __**me...**_

_Taking care of animals requires responsibility; the dedication to take care of the ones you treasure - just like how I take care of Rorona's precious gift to me. _

_It requires affection, love, attention, necessities and all that. Might seem tough, but that is responsibility; a price to pay even while doing the things you love, though the reward is good in the end._

_The reward - affection from the animals themselves._

_Sometimes animals themselves misbehave, yeah sure, but ain't we the same as well when we are young? And as we grow up, aren't we aware of ourselves and become more mature while doing what we love?_

_You buy an animal not because it's cute - although it certainly plays a part (duh) - but because..._

_**It's a part of us...like how I treasured my family, my friends...and Rorona.**_

_Although I'm still kinda peeved at Rin for wanting to snatch my necklace earlier in the day, but..._

Cordelia looked at both Kotori the Sheep and a snugly Rin the Cat, gave a soft sigh, shook her head, and smiled.

_I guess it ain't that bad after all..._

Cordelia slowly felt her eyes becoming heavy as she yawned and eventually gave in to her tiredness after a long, exhausting day...

However, she chuckled softly before falling asleep. "Good night, Rin and Kotori. Nice learning new things every day..."

Rin rubbed her cheeks upon Cordelia's cheek, grinning herself silly in her sleep while purring.


	6. Kotori's Mega Kick!

_**Chapter 6: Kotori's Mega Kick! Part 1**_

_**Many thanks to Hikari3434 for her review! :D Words can't say how much I appreciate it :)**_

_**Also, thanks to AyaseEricchii, IchigoUsagiHibiki, and apinchofusyn for following my stories! :D**_

_**Next day - Arland Outskirts**_

_**"Baaaahhh..." **_Kotori brayed softly as she wandered about the plains, gazing at the swaying flowers, grass, and the dancing butterflies.

"So for the next four hours we are the shepherds, huh?" Honoka wondered.

"Seems so..." Umi shrugged.

"Mmmmm..." Honoka lay on the grassy plains, stretched her body and grinned. "C'mon, let's frolic around the field!"

The optimistic idol wore an orange bear-like cape over her head and spread her arms out wide.

"Roar! Today, I am a bear! Raaaaaooowww!" Honoka embraced Kotori the Sheep and beamed.

_**"Baaaaahhh!" **_Kotori beamed and rubbed her nose upon Honoka's nose.

Umi simpered and sighed happily. "I gotta admit, Kotori looked really cute in her Animal Series Goat outfit."

Umi and Honoka frolicked with Kotori, eventually lying on the floor, and laughing heartily.

_"Umi! Honoka! Kotori!" _a soft, slightly high-pitched voice caught the trio's attention.

"Eh?" Honoka's eyes gazed upon a woman with blue alchemist costume with gold highlights, blue and gold sleeves, long blue alchemist boots, a small blue alchemist hat, and blue robe. The woman had long, light brown hair and eyes.

"Totori!" Honoka simpered and waved hello.

"Hey, Totori! What are you heading to Arland for?" Umi wondered.

"I have renewed my adventurers' license just moments ago; Meruru and Rorona plan to spread the good words of Alchemy by traveling to other continents and I wanted in too!" Totori replied.

Kotori's ears perked up and simpered as she crawled over to rub Totori's by her hands and brayed.

"What happened to Kotori? I mean...she's braying..." Totori wondered.

_**After telling Totori about Rorona's fiasco...**_

"Oh dear...Never expect Miss Rorona to overshoot her formulae..." Totori sighed.

"We're just taking care of Kotori and Rin until the potion's effect wore in about a few days. Rin is with Eri and Nozomi now." Umi replied.

"Not as if we have any other choice...Maybe I could help out?" Totori suggested.

"Really?" Umi's eyes lit up.

"Yup! I did mention having experience in taking care of the farm animals back in Alanya when I'm seven onwards, right?" Totori simpered. "Besides...Kotori looked really cute in her sheep costume!"

Kotori brayed softly, smiled, and rubbed her head on Totori's chest.

"Hahaha...that tickles!" Totori chuckled.

Honoka gazed upon Totori's staff and widened her eyes in shock; the staff's sharp tip was close in nudging Kotori's sensitive skin - her midriff!

"T...Totori! Don't move!" Honoka shot out in fright.

"Huh?" However, her staff's pointy tip poked at Kotori's midriff!

Too late.

"Uhh...Ooops..."

_***BOOOSSSH!***_

The sheep-girl brayed in fright and shoved her legs on Totori's face, sending the Alanya Alchemist flying across a hundred meters and landing on the ground headfirst!

Umi and Honoka approached Totori in worry.

"Toto! Toto! Are you okay there?"

Totori shook her head in a daze and groaned, "Uhhhh...what...what happened?"

"You just got a kick out of Kotori's legs due to your staff's tip..." Honoka replied.

Umi looked at her childhood friend with disinterested eyes. "Honoka..."

"No pun intended!" Honoka shook her head.

**_Miniutes later_**

"I still can't believe that her kick can be THAT strong...oww..." Totori moaned while Honoka and Umi helped her up.

"Well, could be worse..." Umi sighed.

Kotori's head shot up and twitched her ears as she caught multiple frightened brays echoing through the air. The sheep-girl frowned in worry as she began taking off in the brays' direction.

"Kotori has picked up something!" Honoka shot out as the three girl followed the sheep-girl into the Arland Outskirt's forest just nearby.

After a minute or two, the three girls caught up with a sprinting Kotori only to see a group of five red foxes circling around a herd of sheep while baring their teethes.

_"Those foxes must be hunting for them..."_Totori frowned.

Kotori the Sheep gave a short but loud bray as she galloped over and kicked one of the foxes in its nose just as it raised its head!

Totori, Umi, and Totori's raised their head and gazed upon the flying red fox; it howled in pain as it flew high up in the sky and reduced into a sparkle upon the fluffy clouds.

**_*TING!*_**

"Totori, get the repelling dynamites!" Honoka shot out.

Totori nodded as she passed two cylindrical-shaped bombs to Umi and Honoka. The four opposing foxes frowned as they crouched down, ready to pounce.

"On my mark!" Totori shot out as the two idols nodded.

"NOW!" The girls shot out as they threw the non-lethal bombs onto the foxes' body. However, two tall shockwaves struck the bombs, ignited them, exploded, and knocked the foxes out.

"Ok...talk about kill stealing..." Umi shook her head as the girls turned to their right and saw two familiar male warriors.

"Mister Sterk! Gino!" Totori simpered.

"Hey there!" Totori's childhood friend grinned as he waved hello.

"Eh? How'd you know about our whereabouts?" Umi wondered.

"Sterk-sempai and I were training by the forest when we caught glimpses of you running by. So naturally, we followed. The rest...well, you get the gist of it." Gino replied and looked at Kotori the Sheep, who was busying licking the blood off an injured lamb's foot.

"Uh...mind if anyone tell me what's going on?" Gino wondered in amusement.

**_Shortly later..._**

"Oh...so your teacher done goof? That's not so bad though...I have had it worse; still shivered when I drank Rorona's speed potion and becoming a locomotive! What are those sheeps doing here, though?" Gino wondered.

"Beats us..." Umi shrugged.

**_"Meeep..."_**Kotori the Sheep gave a worried bray; a young sheep's leg had cut wounds inflicted by branches littered across the forest.

"Oh no...The baby sheep must have had its legs scraped by numerous branches' tips while attempting to run away from those five foxes just a few minutes ago." Totori gave a look worry.

"Meeeep..." Kotori nudged her nose to Totori's right arm and pointed at the patch of grass after the Alanya Alchemist's attention was caught.

"Grass?" Totori wondered.

Kotori nodded as she pointed at Totori's alchemist bag, the grass once more, and then pointed her right 'hooves' - her right hand - near her mouth.

Totori's eyes widened in realisation, clapped her hands once, and smiled.

"I think I know what Kotori is saying trying to convey!" Totori smiled softly, reached into her backpack, and took out a bunch of herbs with red flowers. "Here's some Healing Herb, it is enough to cover up the wounds!"

Kotori brayed and smiled as she chewed on the herb.

"What is Kotori doing?" Honoka wondered.

"Some healing herbs could only work when they are in paste form and applied upon the wounds, acting as a plaster's healing ingredient." Totori explained.

After a minute of chewing, Kotori stuck out her tongue and softly licked the pasty substance on the baby sheep's injured limbs. The baby sheep winced as the sting rippled through its body, but it soon relaxed as the minty sensation soothed its nerves and calmed its breathing.

"Wow...I never knew that you could do that! I thought those leaves were grinded with mortar and pestle..." Umi raised her eyes in amusement.

"Baaaaahhh..." the ewe and ram of the injured sheep approached the team and rubbed their foot one by one as a sign of thanks. They rubbed their forehead on Kotori's soon after.

"Meeeeeppp..." Kotori blushed and simpered.

"Good one, Kotori!" Gino grinned as he patted the sheep girl's back.

The girls and Sterk shot out in fright, "GINO, NO!"

"Huh? Oh sh..."

Too late, again...

**_*BOOOOOOSSSSHH!*_**

"Hey, not fair! Wait...is that Alanya..." Gino's screams dwindled as it shot straight up into the skies.

"I can't hear you!" Totori shot out. "Speak louder!"

And Gino was going, going...

**_*TING!*_**

GONE!

A big sweatdrop appeared on the side of the team members' heads as they stared straight up the skies with amused eyes.

Minutes later, Sterk broke the awkward silence.

"Can anyone hazard a guess?"

"Looks like Gino..." Honoka smiled as she took out her sunglasses and wore it, "just got a kick out of Kotori!"

**_*YEEEEEAAAAAAAHHHH!*_**

_*Scratch Music*_

_*Silence*_

_*Caw...caw...caw...caw...*_

The members present looked at Honoka with exasperated eyes.

"Ehheheheh...Sorry!" Honoka giggled.


	7. The Cat and Rin II!

**_Chapter 7: The Cat and Rin II - Emotion's Magic!_**

_**Several Ledges from Rorona's Atelier**_

"Meeeeeoooowww...Nyaa!" Rin waggled her 'tail' from her Animal Series cat costume as she leapt from wall ledges to wall ledges.

"Wait up, Rin! Don't leap so far of our reach!" Hanayo panted as she tried to keep up with Cat Rin.

"Nyaaaaa!" Rin stuck out her tongue and playfully leapt down the next ledge that led to the stairs connecting the Atelier's back garden. "Rin wannyyaah play with Rorolinyaah!"

Hanayo sighed and barely kept up with the cat girl.

At the same time, Homia was sitting on the grassy ground while shaded by a big tree. Her soft, white hand caressed the soft, white skin of a kitten with a small smile on her face.

Suddenly, Rin the Nekomini ran down the stairs connecting to the Atelier's back garden and caught her sight on Homia and the white kitten.

"Oh...Miss Rin, it's nice to see you here." Homia spoke in a low, soft, tone.

"Nya? Honya?" Rin tilted her head and mewed.

"Oh...I have almost forgotten. You have become cat-like due to Rorona's potion..." Homia replied calmly.

"Nyaaaa..." Rin nodded while wagging her 'tail' from her neko outfit. Her heart melted as soon as she set her sight on Homia's small kitten.

"Meoooww..." the white kitten mewed softly.

"You love cats too?" Homia asked with a hint of interest.

"Nya!" Rin nodded with utmost enthusiasm, her ears perked up with excitement. The cat-girl then tilted her head as she pointed her left 'paw' - her left hand - at the white kitten.

"Nya? _(Who is she?)_" Rin wondered.

Homia gave a subtle smile as she replied, "Now that you said it...I haven't thought of a name yet."

"Hmmm...Nyan!" Rin grinned.

"Huh? Do you wish to name her...Little Nyan?" Homia wondered.

"Nya! Nya!" Rin clapped her paws with earnest.

"That's a cute name..." Homia smiled softly as her eyes drooped slightly, tingled with subtle warmth. "Do you wish to pet Little Nyan, then?"

"Nyaaa..." Rin's eyes sparkled with affection and she rubbed her small nose upon Little Nyan's back. The white kitten purred as it raised her right paw and stroked Rin's left cheek softly.

Homia gave a small chuckle and gave a small, yet distinct smile. "Cute...isn't it?"

"Nya!" Rin smiled, but gave a puzzled expression after; for it was rather surprising to see Homia to express even a hinge of emotions. The female Homunculus was always monotonous and obeyed Rorona's orders without hesitation. As such, she never had any emotions...

At least that was what Rin thought.

Homia chuckled softly as she brought her right hand and petted Rin's head.

"There...there...You will get your chance too." the female Hom replied gently.

"Purrrrr..." Rin stretched her back and caught her sight on a small ball of yarn beside Homia.

"Nyaaa!" Rin pounced on the ball of yarn, clutched it, and rolled over the patch of lush, green grass beneath the big and shady tree. The simple antic brought a soft smile upon Homia's face as she continued stroking Little Nyan's head.

_**A few minutes later**_

"Where the heck is Rin? That adventurous spirit of hers might get into trouble now that she's a temporary cat-human hybrid." Eri sighed.

"Hanayo, where's the last place Rin is heading?" Nozomi wondered.

"I think she should be around Atelier Rorona; that's the last place I saw her before I lost her. She's way too fast for me." Hanayo shook her head and sighed.

_"Nyaaaa..."_

"Eh? That mew...Rin!" Eri's eyes widened as she picked up a jubilant and familiar mew.

_"Catch! Eheheh..." _

_"Meoooww!"_

_"Rin wants yarn! Nya!"_

The three idols quickly traced their way to the Atelier's back garden and they saw Cat Rin, Little Nyan, and Homia playing with balls of yarn.

"Oh...Hey there, Homia!" Nozomi waved hello.

"Good morning, Miss Nozomi, Miss Eri, and Miss Hanayo. Miss Rin just roamed by the Atelier's back garden minutes ago." the female Hom simpered while she softly stroke Rin's head; the latter mewed as she juggled a ball of yarn with Little Nyan.

"Oh my...the kitten is so cute!" Eri's eyes glowed with warmth.

"Little Nyan here..." Homia chuckled softly. "Do you want to pet it?"

"Would it scratch...scratch us?" Hanayo shivered.

"No. Just like the previous batch of kittens that I have taken care of, Little Nyan detests violence." Homia shook her head calmly.

"Wow...her fur is so soft..." Nozomi smiled while stroking Little Nyan's back. "But it's kinda dirty; there's dust upon it."

"Oh...it must have had its fun while rolling about in the sands and earth earlier." Homia replied.

"It's time for a lil' old wash up, Little Nyan!" Eri chuckled. "I will get a small tub of water, I will be back!"

_**A few minutes later**_

"Scrub a dub dub!" Nozomi grinned as she scrubbed the kitten's fur with soap water and a sponge.

"Meeeeoooowww..." Little Nyan shook her head and mewed as she clawed the air, attempting to rid the splashing soap upon her nose and head.

"Nyaa! Nya!" Rin smiled and she petted Little Nyan's head.

"It's cute...seeing Little Nyan shaking off the water and ruffling her fur..." Homia gave a small smile.

Eri's eyes widened in amusement; she saw Homia's soft smile when the latter gazed at Rin and the damp Little Nyan.

"Homia...that was a surprise..." Eri said.

"Huh?" Homia wondered.

"The fact that you are showing emotions near cats...I know that your master - Rorona - told us about it, but that's the first time we fully witnessed it..." Eri chuckled softly.

Homia tilted her head. "Is it strange that I felt those feelings of warmth?"

Nozomi wiped Little Nyan with a small tower and chuckled after the kitten licked the former's nose.

"Nope...Not at all." Nozomi simpered.

"Why?" Homia wondered.

"Why, huh? Ummm..." Eri mused, scratched her head, and crossed her arms while racking her brains. She shrugged her arms after.

"Sorry...I can't figure out why...It's not something that we can place in words, but we certainly can feel it." Eri replied.

"Is it?" Homia raised her eyes slightly in amusement.

Eri nodded.

"Yup. Some things are just strange, but that does not make them any less true." she replied.

"Really?" Homia wondered.

"Yeah! No point in becoming so up and arms about it." Nozomi nodded.

"But why?" Homia wondered.

"We can't talk about it; we will if we could, but we don't know why we feel that way. We just...do." Nozomi simpered.

Homia was still musing about why she might be feeling what the idols claimed to be 'feelings of warmth', but Rin crawled towards Homia's chest and rubbed her head on the female Homunculus's shoulders.

_"Meeooowww...(Homia loves Cats, Cats love Homia too!)" _Rin mewed loudly.

"Miss Rin..." Homia replied softly.

"Nyaa...Nya! Nya!" Rin smiled and rubbed her head and cat ears on Homia's shoulder and chest.

_"That strange sense of warmth upon my chest again...I can't describe it but...but it's...it's great..." _Homia's smiled became slightly bigger as she patted Rin's hair once more.

"It's indescribable, but I can feel that strange sense of emotion that you have described...It's nice...really." she replied.

"See? You don't have to go all so bonkers about it! You might as well believe in those feelings, it will still exist even if you can't find a reason to explain what you're feeling!" Nozomi chuckled.

Homia's eyes widened slightly and dropped afterwards; wearing a smile upon her face when she finally realised why she was feeling those emotions.

_"I guess...sometimes those emotions might be mysterious and unexplainable, but that doesn't mean those emotions are false. I felt those emotions because I let it be and I choose to believe in it; all it takes is some people to prove it..." _Homia looked at Eri, Nozomi, and Cat-Girl Rin. _"Those people...whom they called one another, 'friends'...right?" _

Rin held Homia by her back and patted her soft, silky silver hair as the female Homunculus gave a genuine, soft chuckle.

_"Thank you...Rin. You showed that even a Hom like me can have what you humans called...'friends' and 'emotions'." _


	8. Shiori's cuteness overload!

_**Chapter 8: Shiori's cuteness overload!**_

_**Noon at Arland - Adventurers' Guild**_

"Been months since the merger of Arls and Arland...It sure has grown quite a lot!" Kanata Shinonome, the redheaded sixth Takamina and AKB0048's captain, widened her eyes in surprise as she saw the huge amount of adventurers at the Guild's entrance.

"Tell me about it!" Shiori Arisawa, the green hair former fifth Takamina and recent captain of SKB0048, nodded.

"Sonata wishes to eet-may more adventurers!" the hyperactive idol wearing a creamy yellow cat shirt, skirt, big paw, and cap, jumped jubliantly. Her eyes sparkled with enthusiasm and intent.

"Come now, Sonata. You can get all excited once we find a way into the Guild. There's plenty of time; it's AKB0048's one week holiday, yes?" Azrael chuckled softly. The Angel of Death is from the Four Horsemen's dimension, which Chris and the Four Horsemen freed them from Lucifer's forces years ago. (According to Chris's world timing.) At some point, the Angel of Death became Kanata's romantic partner.

"Boo...you moodkillah! Sonata has no time to calm down; can't wait to play with Pammy again!" Sonata grinned at the mention of the 'ghost girl' - Pamela Ibis.

_**Inside the Adventurers' Guild**_

Sonata dashed into the Guild's entrance after working her way through the crowd.

_**"Nyaaaaaa!"**_

A blitz of orange zipped through the staircases and leapt onto Sonata!

"Huh? WHA?!"

_***BOOOSSH!***_

_***CRASH!***_

After the smoke cleared off, Sonata groaned and shook her head as she attempted to pick herself up among the shocked people present.

"Ouchie...Who da heck bumped on me?" Sonata winced, rubbed her eyes, and rubbed her forehead.

Kanata managed to set her sight on a familiar short orange hair girl with her trademark cat costume.

"R...Rin?" the redhead's eyes widened.

"Rinny? What the heck are you doing, pouncing upon me like a cat?" Sonata shot out while wincing.

"Nyaarrrooo!" Rin wagged her 'tail' as she pulled Sonata's cheek and grinned.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow! Get off me you meanie kitty!" Sonata screeched as she pushed the cat-girl away. Rin's eyes became squiggly with shock and her mouth pouted as she landed on the ground with her face flat.

_**"Baaaahhh!" **_Kotori the Sheep galloped down and helped Rin up by tugging at the cat skirt.

"Wait...Rin is meowing and Kotori is braying, literally!" Shiori's eyes widened.

"Meeooww..." Rin winced as she licked her paw's wounds and scratched her short, orange hair.

_**"Baaahhh..." **_Kotori brayed.

"Miss Rin...you shouldn't be too excited at the sight of your friends; it might scare away the adventurers." Homia approached Rin and patted her head, eliciting a soft purr from the cat-girl.

All at once, a rush of emotions swept Shiori as her cheeks became red-hot at the sight of Rin's cute purring.

Rin's eyes caught sight of Shiori and stared at the latter for a few seconds before tilting her head and giving a soft _"Meow?"._

Kotori's sheep-like, dreamy eyes gazed at Shiori and co, tilted her head, and softly gave a bray as she ruffled her woolly costume.

With no warning whatsoever, Shiori threw her head back violently as pink blood gushed out from her nose like a massive water fountain!

"Uh...Shiori?" Azrael looked at the green hair woman with widened, squiggly eyes of amusement.

Shiori suddenly shot up and grabbed Homia by her sleeves.

"How d...d...did she becomes that c...c...cute? Tell me! TELL MEEEEE!" Shiori stammered while pink blood continually gushed out from her nose.

"M...Miss Shiori, please calm down. You might be overloading yourself with too much cute..." Homia replied calmly, but was interrupted when Shiori made a dash towards Cat Rin, grabbed her by the back, and shoved it right in Homia's face.

"How can you not resist the cuteness? HOW?!" Shiori shot out in frenzy as she waved Rin's hands up and down.

"Nya?" Rin wondered.

"Baaahhh...?" Kotori wondered.

"Miss Shiori...I think you should worry about what your nosebleed have caused..." Homia replied calmly.

"Ok, ok! What's the din..." Cordelia approached the team, but Shiori cut her off when steam came out from Shiori's head.

"TOO MUCH CUTE!" Shiori's head inflated and comically exploded into confetti and pink blood.

Kanata, Sonata, Azrael, Homia, Cordelia, and a few adventurers were doused by pink blood as they looked at Shiori with amused, squiggly eyes.

"Nya?" Cat Rin looked at Kotori, scratching her head in confusion.

"Baaaaahh..." Kotori shrugged and shook her head.

"Go home, Shiori...Go home." Cordelia gave an uninterested expression and facepalmed.


	9. Sonata vs Rin - Poor Sports? Part 1

_**Chapter 9: Sonata vs Rin - Poor Sports?**_

_**(Featuring AKB0048's members Kanata Shinonome, Sonata Shinonome, Shiori Arisawa, and Darksider's Azrael.)**_

_**An hour of cleaning up later...**_

Shiori, with her eyes widened in amusement, shot out, "Eeeehh? Rorona done goof in concocting an Animal Voices' recovery Potion?! Damn..."

"Yeah...so that's that." Cordelia shrugged.

_"Nyaaaah..."_

Cordelia, Shiori, Kanata, and Azrael heard a slightly angry mew. They turned around just in time to see Cat Rin and Sonata facing off in all fours!

"You think you are cuter than me?" Sonata growled.

"Nyaaa!" Rin gritted her teeth, her eyes glint with determination.

"Oh nyah?" Sonata frowned.

"NYAH!" Rin screeched.

"YAAAAAAAHHHH!"

"NYAAAAAAAAAAROOO!"

Both Sonata and Rin pounced and scratched each other in a cloud of dust. The team members present looked at the ensuing ball of dust in amusement as a drop of sweat appeared upon their foreheads.

"Uh...literal catfight?" Nozomi wondered.

Both Sonata and Rin faced each other a few minutes later, panting and all out of breath. Their clothes and caps all caked with dirt and dust from the catfight.

"Alright, that's it! You think you're cute, eh? Why don't we fight against each other in a race? Nyah?" Sonata growled.

"Nyaaah..." Rin growled back.

"Wait, what? Race?" Kanata wondered.

"There's an Adventurers' Marathon taking place later in the day together with today's Arland Carnival taking place. Ya know, pretty much like the Alanya Beach festival." Cordelia explained.

"So that explains why the Guild felt so packed today..." Azrael replied calmly.

Both Rin and Sonata raised their left and right paws respectively.

_**Adventurers' Marathon - Arland Carnival**_

_"And here we are at the Arland Carnival's Adventurers Marathon! I am your host Chiharu Sakuragi!" _

_"And this is your co-host, Zephyr! This is definitely a heated atmosphere as everyone's pumped up for today's marathon, which is part of Arland's tradition since the founding of the Republic itself!"_

At ground level, Rin the Cat stretched her limbs and ruffled her hair and cat-like ears. Sonata rubbed her 'paw' with glee as she stretched her limbs.

"Um...Sonati...Are you sure you can win this?" Kanata wondered.

"I will win! Rinny thinks she's better than me at being a cat. HA! I will show her! Hmph!" Sonata pouted.

"C'mon...it's just a game...right? Yeah, sure there are prizes to be won and all but, wouldn't it be great if we can take part in this together?" Kanata sighed.

"It's more that winning! I wanna prove that I am a better 'cat-girl' than Rin! No one does better than me, nya!" Sonata pouted.

On the other team...

"I don't know...with the amount of participants up to the thousands, Rin might get lost come a few minutes..." Umi replied in worry.

"She doesn't seem in relenting either." Hanayo sighed.

"Hey there..." Chris arrived at the starting line after landing on the ground with her Genesis Flight System. "Heard you all getting ready for the marathon too?"

"Yup. Although Sonata and Rin might be getting a bit too competitive for their own good..." Eri replied in worry.

" All this time I have been behind the wheels and racing for Team Audi; Alito and I wanna find out just how it feels to race in foot in a relaxed marathon such as this!" Chris chuckled.

"Well...you being a goddess-human hybrid since your awakening years ago will certainly boost your chance in winning." Honoka replied.

"Nope. We are planning to do this race without any flight equipment. We just wanna experience the marathon, for what it's worth." Alito shook her head.

"We have certainly raced in a car, but racing on foot without the buffs of being a goddess-human hybrid? I want a challenge on that!" Chris chuckled as she began stretching her arms and legs.

"Wait...you mean to say that you have _**never**_ entered a race _**on foot**_ before?" Shiori wondered.

Chris and Alito nodded.

"Not even _**once**_?" Shiori replied and got the same response.

Both Rin and Sonata looked at Chris and Alito in amusement and laughed shortly.

"No offense, Icy and Windy-sensei, but reading about running on _**foot **_will only qualify you as a novice runner!" Sonata giggled.

"I never claimed myself to be good in running on foot, despite being a combat instructor back in Akibastar, yes?" Chris simpered.

The reality hit both Rin and Sonata like a bus on a brick wall; they almost forgot that Chris and Alito were one of the best, if not the best, combat instructors around. That would mean lots and lots of running...

However, Sonata forced a smile upon her face as cold sweat poured down her forehead. "Ha! But it is a marathon, ya know? Marathon is not just plain running or intense running as compared to the running exercise back in Akibastar! It's a good thing I have experience for at least two years when there's a Summersonic Beach Triathlon - AKBINGO Edition! "

"Well...you're right. A marathon is much different from your usual run-of-the-mill running, flying around, and slaying heartless creatures everywhere at about 120 miles per hour. Still, that won't stop us from learning and understanding the joys of Humanity, right my love?" Chris simpered, to which Alito gave a warm smile.

"Heh...at least we nyaaaow we ain't gonnyaa lose to Chris and Alito-sempai, then! Nya!" Rin purred.

"Um...you do realize by Chris and Alito's logic that means they have _**nothing to lose**_ in terms of them participating in this competition?" Azrael asked.

However, the Angel of Death's advice fell on deaf ears as Rin and Sonata continued taunting each other about how one was better than the other.

"I don't think they get the message..." Azrael sighed.

"Well...sometimes my sister needs a kick in the butt, I guess?" Kanata shrugged.

"Talk about sister love, huh?" Chris chuckled.

"Love, especially between siblings, hurts...A LOT." Kanata grinned. "But you're right; let's have some fun today!"


	10. Sonata vs Rin - Poor Sports? Part II

_**Chapter 10: Sonata vs Rin - Poor Sports? Part II - Lost in the Woods!**_

_**Minutes later**_

_"And they are off! The adventurers are taking off like excited popcorns!" _Zephyr announced.

_"That's right! Our main highlights of the day, however, is the two cat-like girls running beside each other - Sonata and Rin! The two of them seem interested in settling their grudge match against each other; something about comparing their cuteness being better than the other is." _Chiharu followed. _"And what a surprise! Their determination to win had allowed them to bolt out in front to reach the top five, amazing!"_

"You think you can win nyah?" Sonata grinned.

"I will win nyah competition and prove I'm better than you, nyah! I will win! I will...whaaaahh!" Rin growled, but she suddenly tripped over and fell flat on her face!

"HAHAHAHA! So long, nyah sucker!" Sonata grinned as she bolted off with the top four runners.

Rin growled in anger as she struggled to get up amidst the other runners rushing past them, covering her in a cloud of dirt.

"NyAAAAH! Sonata tripped me! That nyaaaahty cheater!" Rin angrily accused.

Chris and Alito jogged by and saw a struggling Rin cursing towards the dusty wind.

"Rin! Ya okay there?" Chris shot out in worry as she helped the cat-girl up.

"Look at me! Nyah think I'm all right? Sonata tripped my butt, nya!" Rin scratched her head in a cat-like manner after licking her small wounds upon her right hand.

Chris sighed as she saw a small rock beside Rin. "Maybe you should be careful about where you're going before accusing someone else of cheating..."

"I'm more careful enyaaaough than you could nyaaver be!" Rin pouted as she took off instantly in a blitz of orange bolt.

Alito and Chris looked at each other and shrugged.

_**Distances ahead of Chris and co...**_

"Hehehe...sis will be so proud of me once I get to the top three for once! I can't imagine myself either; being in the top three, and better than Rin! Nyahahaha! Who's the better cat-girl now, eh?" Sonata grinned as she slowed her pace down and began strolling at a comfortable pace, only to see a bolt of orange blitzing past her.

"Wha...?" the young orange-hair girl's eyes widened in shock as the orange bolt zipped past her and leaving her coughing up in the dust.

"Eat my dust, meeeoooww!" Rin taunted as she dashed away.

The dust clouded her sight and soon enough, Sonata tripped on a stump and fell flat on her face with a reddened nose.

"Grrr...You TRIPPING CHEATER!" Sonata screeched as she winced and struggled to get up, just as Chris and Alito came jogging by shortly.

"Here..." Chris and Alito simpered as they helped Kanata's young sister up. "You do know that it's just a game, right? It could have been worse, right?"

"So? That cat-girl wannabe tripped my ass! If she wanna change the rules, she's gonna have it in her face!" Sonata gritted her teeth as veins bulged upon her temple her forehead; steam erupted from her ears, and roared.

Rocks erupted from the ground and Sonata's eyes glowed with anger as she charged forward like a steaming locomotive, leaving Chris and Alito in a cloud of dust just when Kanata and co caught up.

"How much are you gonna bet they are going to be muddied towards the end?" Honoka wondered.

"Is that even a question, Honoka?" Kanata looked with an uninterested expression.

"We are rather surprised that they weren't questioning about how we can catch up to them even when they're miles up front." Alito scratched her head.

_**Meanwhile...**_

"HEY MEANIE-FACE!" Sonata screamed as she ate up the distance between Rin and her.

"Nya got to be kidding!" the orange hair cat-girl gasped as she broke into a bolt of orange blitz.

_"And here we are! After minutes of messing each other up through tripping each other's legs, Rin and Sonata got right back on track! Now they are neck at neck, who will get the edge?" _Chiharu shot out.

_"Edge? They aren't on a mountain, aren't they?" _Zephyr wondered.

_"Mountain? Dear me no! Speaking of mountains, the contestants are entering the Camellia Mountains - the mountain that connected the Arland's outskirts and a forested area! Many ways of travelling; multiple ways out! So who will emerge out of the forest first?" _Chiharu continued.

Rin managed to edge Sonata in a cloud of dust, hid inside a bush, and smirked as she open up a jar of honey from her skirt's pocket.

"Nyaaaheheheh!" Rin smirked. "Good thing I have a jar of honey from Pamenya (Pamela)!"

The orange hair cat-girl quickly doused the ground with a whole jar of honey and left a long trail as she ran away, laughing to herself.

Sonata came dashing by. Her mind was so preoccupied with catching up to Rin that she failed to catch sight of the honey trail.

"Nononononoooo! KYYAAAAAHH!"

_***BOOOOSH!***_

_***CRASH!***_

Sonata slipped up and fell flat on the honey-glazed ground; her cat-costume coated with honey.

"Rinny, you meanie buggeration! Slip me up with honey, will ya?" Sonata growled, but her eyes widened as her ears picked up a crisp, buzzing sound.

The little idol turned around, her eyes became complete white, and her face turned as white as a sheet. A surge of fear chilled her spine and her legs turned to jelly as a massive cloud of black blob charged towards her.

Birds flew away from the forest as a piercing scream rang the skies.

Rin continued to run in a constant pace, grinning to herself, but her ears picked up a familiar scream...

_**"KKYAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"**_

An immense cloud of dust rumbled forth with a huge black cloud coming in hot on the dust's trail.

"HEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLPPPP!" Sonata cried.

Rin's fur gloves and hair turned bushy with fright; her eyes widened with fright as she realised that her plan backfired.

"EEEEEEKKKK! NYAAAAOT THE BEES!" Rin yelled in fright as she bolted along with Sonata, screaming their lungs off.

_***BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!* **_the swarm of bees chased after the honey-coated idols in hot pursuit. Sonata's hazel eyes caught sight of a flowing river just a few feet ahead.

"RIVER! THE RIVER AHEAD!" Sonata shot out.

The two idols pinched their nose and dive-bombed into the watery bodies, holding their breath and hoping they will go off somehow. Fortunately, the bees - thinking that they have suffered enough tiring punishment - gave up and flew back to their hives.

Both Rin and Sonata swam up to the river surface to grab air while calming down. The AKB0048's youngest idol could not let Rin's naughty prank slip by; her eyes flared up thinking about it and veins bulged upon her forehead.

"YOU IDIOT! YOU DOUSE ME AND MY PRECIOUS KITTY COSTUME IN HONEY?!" Sonata shot out in anger.

"NYA ARE THE ONE WHO TRIPPED ME IN NYEH FIRST PLACE!" Rin angrily shot back.

Sonata snapped as she pounced on Rin in a rage. "YOU TRIP ME TOO NYAH IDIOT! YAAAAAAARRRRGGGHH! "

Sonata chased Rin all over the forest - through lakes, rivers, rock paths, hills, and trees to trees. They rolled, fought, and scratched each other. Dust and mud caked their tattered costume, face and hair.

After twenty minutes of fighting, both Rin and Sonata slumped on the muddied ground, panting in exhaustion.

"You...idiot...Sonata is cuter than you..." Sonata growled softly.

"Nyaaaao...I cuter!" Rin panted.

"Let's race again!" Sonata growled as she picked herself up and dusted dirt off her precious cat costume.

"Nya got it!" Rin shot back as she dusted her hair and skirt, frowning in anger.

The two cat-girls dashed through the forest for a while, but soon themselves in a forest area where only massive dead leaves littered the ground.

Minimum light crawled through the gaps from the tree shades as the surroundings grew darker and darker. Cold wind howled through the woods as Rin and Sonata stopped dead on their tracks; their 'tails' stuck up in fright and chills rippled through their spines.

"R...R...Rin-chan?" Sonata shivered, throwing away her rivalry with Rin for the moment.

"N...N...Nyah?" Rin, who was shivering along, replied.

"Where do you think we might be?" Sonata wondered.

"I think...we're lost...nyaa..." Rin replied.

Silence...then both Sonata and Rin hugged each other in plain fright...

_**"MOMMY!"**_


	11. Sonata vs Rin - Poor Sports? Part III

_**Chapter 11: Sonata vs Rin - Poor Sports? Part III - Working together!**_

_**Last time on Chapter 10**_

_**The two cat-girls soon found themselves in a darker, shadier forested area where there were no dirt trails and only massive dead leaves littering the ground.**_

_**Minimum light crawled through the gaps from the tree shades as the surroundings grew darker and darker. Cold wind howled through the woods as Rin and Sonata stopped dead on their tracks; their 'tails' stuck up in fright and chills rippled through their spines.**_

_**"R...R...Rin-chan?" Sonata shivered, throwing away the thoughts of racing with Rin for the moment.**_

_**"N...N...Nyah?" Rin, who was shivering along, replied.**_

_**"Where do you think we might be?" Sonata wondered. **_

_**"I think...we're lost...nyaa..." Rin replied.**_

_**Silence...then both Sonata and Rin hugged each other in plain fright...**_

_**"MOMMY!"**_

_**Sometime after wandering around the forest**_

"Are we out yet?" Sonata whined.

"Dunyaaooo..." Rin shook her head as she walked on all fours.

_**After a few more minutes...**_

"Thirty two big flowing lakes up ahead, thirty two big flowing lakes...Take one down turn it around, I wanyah bathe on the lakes..." Sonata recited in a low, boring tone.

"Blahh...Blah...Blah..Nyahh..." Rin sighed.

"You idiot...you got us lost in the first place and now you're complaining me for being so bored?" Sonata grumbled.

"Nyaaa! You nyah the one who trip me!" Rin frowned while scratching her head.

_***Grrrrroooowww...***_

Sonata and Rin's virtually jumped out of their skin and shut up for a moment. Sonata broke the silence shortly after.

"L...Look, we best had better find our way out here together...God forbid seeing our friends acting all worked up over us..." Sonata sighed. "We can settle this bullcrap about who trip who later!"

"Y...Nyeaaah." Rin shivered and nodded.

_**An hour later**_

"Ahhhhh...I'm dead beat..." Sonata panted as she slumped on the ground, exhausted.

"Ohhh...nyaaahhh..." Rin slumped along and sighed.

"How about we rest up for a while first before we resume the race?" Sonata suggested.

"Nya, lets!" Rin nodded and ruffled her hair.

After Rin and Sonata settled down and built a small fire to keep potential wild animals away, the orange hair idol took out a flask of pale yellow liquid.

"Wanyah go along with this while we rest our limbs up?" Rin wondered.

"What's that?" Sonata replied.

"Some kind nya Malt Drink that Tiffani gave me on one time. She said it will be nyaaace to relax once in nya while; might not have alcohol but it can make people relax..." Rin wondered, scratching her head once more.

"That's what she said?" Sonata wondered.

Rin nodded.

"Well...it's not as if we have any choice though."

_**Five minutes into the drink...**_

"Ooooh...that's sweet to drink still. I'm feeling kinda light in toes..." Sonata grinned herself silly.

"Nyaaaa...Meeeeeooowww..." Rin dreamily chuckled, stretched her back, and meowed loudly as small bubbles began spouting out of her mouth.

_**Five more minutes later...**_

"Hey, Rinny..."

"Nyaaaaa...?" Rin mumbled.

"We lost nya race...together...Look...all this fighting and everything got us last place; tis no point now...We are just losers in sportsmanship..." Sonata sighed.

"And all that...because we wannyyyah compare who's cute...Nyaaahhh..." Rin moaned.

"Ya ever...uhhh...ever wonder what de whole point of it was?"

"What, nya?"

"The racesssssss...This whole race...ya know? This whole 'running through the farust and muck pools and gap'...?"

"*HIC!* Y...Yeah?" Rin hiccupped.

"Ya know...when things are all quiet like this...I thinkin, what zis point when we dunno why we are just racing...Other than to compare who is cute...?" Sonata shook her head.

"Nya suggested in nya first place..." Rin burped.

Silence, then...

"Oooooooooooohhh..." Sonata gave a pouted lip.

_**Five MORE minutes later...**_

Rin and Sonata were having a tug-of-war over who get the flask of malted drink next; only half a flask was left.

"NyaaaaaSonyataaaaa! You're much too nyaung to be DRINKING, nyaung lady! Give me nyat bottle immediatelli...immanya...immi...NYAO. *HIC!* *HOC!*" Rin hiccupped.

"Nyoooooooo! I wanna drinkeh the boozeh! Nitz legal to drink tis at shexteen back in Akinya...Akibi..._**mah world**_!" Sonata growled.

"Nyaaaaa, me wanyah drink! DRINK ME WANT!" Rin struggled.

_**Five MORE minutes later...**_

"OH GOD! I'M A HORRIBLE PERSON; I'M SO SORRY ABOUT TRIPPING YOU AND LETTING YOU NEARLY STUNG BY BEES AND THE BEEHIVE AND EVERYTHING!" Rin cried.

"It's OK! I forgive you, so let it all out! WAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

Both Rin and Sonata mewed and cried as they embraced each other and had a good cry.

_**Ten more minutes **_

Sonata cheekily smiled while holding Rin's hands in a drunken state. "Thirty-two bottles of rum on the floor; thirty-two bottles of rum..."

"Take one down turn nyah around," Rin responded.

A huge boar suddenly leapt from the bushes and attempted to charge the two idols down, however...

"And we gonyah smash it all on teh floor!"

Both Rin and Sonata shot out the next verse and deliver a huge kick towards the boar's nose!

The boar fell dead on track; its tusks broken and blood foaming out of its mouth.

Both Rin and Sonata slumped on the ground, laughing heartily as they rambled about the remaining thirty-one bottles of rum.

_**Meanwhile on the other side of the forest - Finish Line**_

The participants mingled around the finish line. Some slumped on the ground, exhausted. Some congratulated one another for a job well done in carrying on with the culture.

"Great...their competitiveness got them lost in the middle of Arland's Forest...Wherever are they now?" Kanata shot out in worry.

_**"Baaaahhh..." **_ Kotori brayed after sniffing on the ground she was standing.

Chris's eyes widened. "Kotori must have picked up a scent!"

"Wait, what? Kotori is not a dog!" Umi replied.

"Sheeps have good sense of smell too." Totori nodded. "She reckoned that she smell something...malty."

"Let's go! They might be in danger if they encountered some wild things in the forest without supervision!" Umi replied in worry.

When the search party managed to trudge through the forest and found the two lost idols, their eyes widened in amusement.

Both Sonata and Rin were sleeping beside each other while embracing tightly. Big droplets of water dripped out from their nose while the two girls were snoring loudly.

"Well...whaddya know? They do seem to get along!" Kantata chuckled.

"But how? I swore they were fighting about hours ago!" Shiori wondered.

Chris managed to spot a flask of spilled malted drink just beside the snoring duo and gave a soft chuckle.

"Never mind...we'll just bring 'em back to the Adventurers' Guild. I guess they have buried the hatchet for now..."


	12. A Sheep's Day!

_**Chapter 12: A Sheep Day.**_

_**AN: From this chapter onwards, it will be like Puchimas, a short slice of life Idolmaster anime that talks about Puchidoru.**_

_**For people who don't know the format of Puchimas, it's basically a two-minute anime shorts based of the four-panel manga series.**_

_**Italic signified the narrator, voiced by Chris 'Quattro' Fuschia.**_

Kotori wandered about in the Arland outskirts' plain, nibbling at the grass and braying softly.

_This is Kotori the sheep..._

"Meeeep..." she responded.

_**"Well...apparently my concoction might be a bit too strong on that one...I was supposed to add three teaspoons of**_**_fine_**_**lavender powder but I added**_**_three and a half_**_**instead...oops..."**_

_Kotori is a sheep due to an accidental inhalation from Rorona's Animal Voice Recovery Potion._

The sun rose towards the highest point in the skies, shining brightly in its midday glory.

_Noon._

Kotori was sleeping peacefully in the Arland Outskirt's plains, braying softly while exhaling. The fluffy costume ruffled softly in the wind as several droplets of drowsiness leaked from her small, petite mouth.

_About the time for Kotori the Sheep to wake up from her nap._

Kotori the sheep brayed softly with each exhale from her mouth and she buried her face on her arms, eating up the air dreamily.

Eight seconds later...

_Wake up._

Kotori's eyes became big white opaque circles as she woke up in a fright, gasping in shock.

_**(Ribbons, stars, and hearts clustered around the center and showed the title card: Love Live: Animal Talk!)**_

_**Sunset Cafe **_

_It is Sterk's shift in taking care of Kotori the Sheep._

Sterk simpered as he gave a piece of almond cake in front of Kotori.

"Here you go, you must be starving, eh?" Sterk chuckled softly.

The sheep-girl slowly approached the almond cake and quickly nibbled away at the delicious pastry.

"Bit by bit, Kotori..." Sterk chuckled once more.

_Kotori loves cake-like pastries._

_**"Baaaaaaaaahhhh..." **_Kotori tilted her head and gave a soft, cute, and dreamy-like smile.

_**(Scene shifts to Kotori wandering around the plains while Sterk is feeding the pigeons in the same area.**_

Kotori grazed upon the grasses and chased the butterflies dancing around the plains. One of the dancing butterflies landed upon Kotori's nose, eliciting a cute smile upon the sheep girl once more.

_Kotori also loves frolicking around the plains during her free time._

_(Scene shifts to Adventurers Guild Desk - Cordelia's corner.)_

Kotori the Sheep brought her 'hooves' and slowly massaged Cordelia's shoulders and back.

_Kotori loves to help Cordelia by soothing the ache around her shoulders._

"Mmmm..." Cordelia chuckled softly.

"Miss Cordelia, could you please look at some Adventurer License Forms?" Fily shot out as she approached the blonde receptionist while waving several pieces of papers on her hands.

"Yes? You mean those Forms those new adventurers that want to...Oh no!" Cordelia turned her back to face Fily, but accidentally swing off Kotori!

However, Kotori performed several somersaults calmly and landed on all fours unscathed with a simper upon her face! Cordelia, Fily, and other adventurers present widened their eyes in amazement.

_Kotori the Sheep knows acrobatics well; the dance training in Team Muse does pay off!_

_**(Scene switches to Kotori cleaning up the Adventurers' resting room.)**_

Kotori the Sheep ran around the resting room on all fours, holding a piece of white, damp cleaning cloth. The sheep girl huffed and puffed as she scrubbed the dusty floors, wiping the sweat from her forehead every once in a while and braying softly.

_It's Kotori's cleaning up time in the Adventurers' Resting Room._

Kotori spent the next thirty minutes scrubbing every nook and cranny upon the room's dirty floor. Just as she finished scrubbing the floor though, she slipped and fell flat on her face.

Fily Dee, the Adventurers Guild's Secretary, heard a thud and widened her eyes in shock after seeing Kotori's accident. The brunette slowly approached Kotori while softly brushing her pale-brown hair.

"A...Are you okay there, Kotori?" Fily gasped in worry and breaking into a sweat; believing the sheep-girl to be injured. That was, until Fily heard a soft snoring and braying sound coming out from Kotori's mouth.

A few minutes later, Kotori was lying on Fily's lap, sleeping soundly.

_Kotori, tired after a hard day's work, is now sleeping dreamily once again while braying softly occasionally._

"There...there...Kotori..." Fily chuckled softly; a soft smile and a sense of warmth crept across the secretary's cheeks while she petted Kotori's pale brown hair and her fluffy sheep costumes.

_**"Baaaaah...Baaaaaahh..."**_

_"I'm getting sleepy too from counting Kotoris...*Yawn*...Uhhhh..." _Fily slowly nodded several times and finally dozed off together with the sheep girl.

_Good night, Kotori and Fily. Have a sweet dream!_


	13. Cloud Nine!

_**Chapter 13: Kotori the Sheep - Cloud Nine! **_

Kotori the Sheep, Honoka, and Umi were strolling by the crowded Arland Marketplace in the morning.

_(It is Honoka and Umi's shift in taking care of Kotori.)_

The marketplace was filled with fruit stalls, vegetable vendors, vendors that sold crafts like necklace and rings. Some vendors even sold swimming clothes, bikinis, and tubers.

"It sure is a busy street; so many people engrossed in the Beach Festival's preparation..." Umi's eyes widened.

"Yeah...air's getting a bit stuffy for me; we're getting packed like sardines!" Honoka pouted.

_**"Baaaaahhh..." **_Kotori brayed in agreement while ruffling her fluffy sheep costume.

_"Ahoy there!" _

Umi, Honoka, and Kotori spotted a familiar sight with long green hair and a long ponytail to boot. The trio managed to jostle their way past the crowd and met up with the familiar figure. The green hair girl was wearing a light green tank top with a light blue skirt and wore a light blue bow ribbon upon her ponytail.

"Oh hey, Shiori-sama!" Umi's eyes lit up as the trio approached the former fifth Takamina.

**_(Ribbons, stars, and hearts clustered around the center and showed the title card: Love Live: Animal Talk!)_**

**_The foursome decided to take a break from all the crows jostling by resting at the Sunset cafe._**

"Fancy meeting you here at the marketplace; getting ready to film the new summer PV for SKB0048?" Honoka chuckled. SKB0048 is a sub unit of AKB0048, reserved only for graduated members who wanted to further their career.

"Ya betcha, though it is getting kinda humid in here...My tank top is getting a bit sticky from jostling about." Shiori pouted as she slurp on a mango popsicle and ruffled her tank top.

_**"Baaaaaahhh..." **_Kotori tugged at Shiori's skirt with her mouth.

_Kotori thinks that Shiori's skirt looked just like colored paper; she loved nibbling paper._

Shiori's eyes wobbled with affection and sparkled with hearts as she shook her head. Her nose started bleeding pink blood as her eyes met the sheep girl's dreamy eyes.

_"Dawwww...so cute!"_ Shiori thought as she embraced Kotori and caressed the idol's fluffy sheep costume.

"Woah...Shiori-sama, please calm down! I mean Kotori's not gonna run away now, is it?" Umi gave an amused expression.

"S...Sorry...Just got a bit ahead of myself...Ehheheh..." Shiori blushed and chuckled, but widened her eyes in shock as she dug deep in her skirt's pockets.

_"Dear me no...Where's my pale green wallet? I swore I have it on me and never take it out..." _Shiori thought anxiously, temporarily breaking into a cold sweat, but she felt a soft smooth skin nudging on her skirt and thighs.

_**"Meeeeeeepp..." **_Kotori nudged Shiori's skirt once more.

"Huh?" Shiori wondered what caused Kotori to want her attention. The sheep girl pointed her right 'hoove' on the ground; a light green wallet.

"Oh my...I must have dropped the wallet from my shallow skirt pockets..." Shiori gasped.

Kotori bit the small green wallet and handed it to the green hair idol, whose heart melted as she saw the sheep-girl's smiling face.

"Thank goodness, Kotori! Thank you so much; I thought I have lost it for good! It's my precious little wallet that Kanata gave me as a token of thanks...Thank goodness..." Shiori embraced Kotori once more, but the former suddenly smirked. The former fifth Takamina's eyes glinted as she grabbed Kotori by her waist, carried her like a suitcase, and burst off in a cloud of dust, much to Honoka and Umi's shock.

_**"MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPP!" **_Kotori cried.

_Taken._

"HEY! What in all of Arland?! Get back here, Shiori-sama!" Umi and Honoka shot out as they began giving chase, clearing off the dust clouds left by Shiori's sprinting in the process.

_An hour of chasing later..._

Shiori managed to calm down from the chase and rendezvous with Umi and Honoka back in the Sunset Cafe after.

Kotori was nibbling at Shiori's colored skirt as usual; braying softly as the latter's hands softly brushed the former's hair.

"Sorry about that...I was just too caught up with how cute her costume is and her sheep-like manner." Shiori sheepishly apologised.

Umi sighed. "It's okay...I mean, she's cute and all but you don't have to overreact, right? Still..."

_**(Camera zoomed out as Kotori and many people surrounded the three idols.)**_

"How're we gonna clear off the crowding people who wanted to see Kotori's sheep-like cuteness?" Umi asked.

"I want Kotori all to myself too!" Honoka pouted.

"Well, I can offer one thing to cope with all of this cuteness..." Shiori sheepishly chuckled.

"Yes, please!" Umi and Honoka shot out.

"Give it up... and take in the cuteness that is Kotori the fluffy sheep!" Shiori squealed. Both Umi and Sonoda fell on the floor with their legs up in the air.

"That's mean!" Umi and Sonoda shot back in disgust after they shot back up.

"Come now, you can't resist her fluffiness, eh?" Shiori winked.

"That's mean!" Honoka shot back once more.

"She's just so cute that we can't resist it at all!" Shiori shook her head as she embraced a puzzled Kotori and rubbed her cheek as several cotton-like clouds clouded everywhere.

Umi gave an uninterested look as she shook her right fist in anger.

"Can I punch you...Shiori-sama...?" Umi replied in a low, gruff tone.

_Shiori...please calm down. You're in cloud nine right now..._

_Well...I guess you ain't listening any time soon..._

_*Sigh*_


	14. Eat or be Eaten!

_**Chapter 14: The Cat and Rin III - Eat or be Eaten!**_

Meanwhile, at the Adventurers Guild, Cordelia, Hanayo, Chris, Alito and Rin were by a tea counter in the Guild's Staff Room.

_*BAAAAM!*_

The women present, except for Chris and Alito, jumped out of their skins upon hearing the entrance door's loud slam.

The woman who slammed the door had long, orange-brown hair. She had brown-orange eyes with a diamond-shaped sparkle upon her hairs and eyes; all AKB0048's graduated members - SKB0048 members - acquired it.

She was wearing a short, white jean, blue shirt with two shirt pockets upon her chest area, and sleeves that extended to her elbow.

"Waaaaassssup!" the brown-hair woman shot out in excitement; her big grin etched across her cheeks while exposing her squirrel-like tooth.

_**(Ribbons, stars, and hearts clustered around the center and showed the title card: Love Live: Animal Talk!)**_

"Oh welcome back, Hikari!" Alito simpered upon realising the person who slammed the door.

"Hikari, good job on the Hawaii beach photo shoot!" Chris praised.

The former ninth Yuko Ooshima dragged her big brown leather luggage, placed it down, and wiped her forehead.

"Thanks, Chris." Hikari simpered. "It's a bit tiring back in your world but I really love it! Besides, I have bought some souvenirs back from Hawaii's Boutique gift shop!"

The brunette took out two small colorful dolls with floral tattoos, and a cute looking face shaped like fat bowling pins. "Ta-da! Brought nesting dolls back for the both of you; heard that you like it very much but can't get it because of busy schedules!"

"Hey, that was the rare floral Russian Nesting Dolls that I have looked for! Thank you so much..." Chris clutched the doll tightly with both hands.

"Thanks, Hikari...that meant a lot to me and my wife." Alito chuckled softly.

"An aquamarine for you, knew that you would like that in your collection after losing one in an adventure a month and a half ago."

"Thanks..." Cordelia simpered and blushed lightly.

"Hanayo, I brought a deluxe pack of ready-to-eat Hawaiian Rice for ya; that's your second favourite after white rice!"

"T...thanks! How's your bag capable in containing so much things?" Hanayo wondered.

"Heehee...seeecret!" Hikari teased. "And for Rin, I got...EH?"

The cheerful idol turned her attention towards Rin snoring and purring softly on the pale, furry carpet; the latter was still wearing her trademark Team Muse's Cat Costume.

"Rin? Why is she all cat-like?" Hikari wondered.

"Well...Rorona done goof..." Cordelia laughed sheepishly while scratching her blonde hair.

Hikari gave a naughty smirk, approached the costume's 'tail' on Rin's butt and grabbed it.

"Hey...hey hey! Oi! Don't pick on her; cats need sleep as well, less they scratch you in anger!" Cordelia chided.

"Awww, c'mon! Wouldn't be any harm in doing so since she's not really a full-on cat, right? Besides...she's so cute!" Hikari grinned, rubbing the furry tail upon her cheeks.

"She's cute; I will give you that..." Cordelia sighed.

"Nyaaaaa..." Rin mumbled.

After Hikari settled down...

The brown-hair idol stretched her body and arms as she yawned and slumped on a resting armchair, her body becoming limp with tiredness. "Mmmmm...sure feels great to be back after all that hard work. Is there anything to eat, though?"

"Eh? Being lazy? That's so unlike you, Hikari." Cordelia wondered.

"Oi...Cory, I haven't had anything to eat since I came back! I mean, a hardworking idol has gotta scoff something down, ya?" Hikari pouted as she drowsily rubbed her eyes.

Hanayo brought two bags of 'Lightly Salted' potato chips while approaching Hikari and company.

"I have some snacks if you want - potato chips!" Hanayo simpered.

"Yay! Lightly salted, tis my favorite flavor!" Hikari cheered.

However, as soon as Hanayo opened up the packet of lightly salted chips, the wafting aroma snapped Rin from her dozing spree as she quickly snatched the bag away from Hanayo in seconds!

Hanayo and Hikari's eyes widened in shock; their jaws dropped down as they watched helplessly at a hungry Rin wolfing down the bag of chips.

"T...That was my bag of c...c...chips..." Hikari stammered.

Chris shook her head and sighed, "Uh no...That was originally my snack..."

"Give it back!" Hikari clenched her fists angrily as she instantly pounced on Rin, but the effervescent cat-girl leapt away!

*Woosh!*

"Give it back!" Hikari followed up with a swift hook as she quickly dashed towards Rin, but the latter evaded it easily with a skilful back flip.

*Woosh!*

"It's mine, give back what's mineeeeeee!" the former ninth Yuko Oshima launched herself towards Rin like a goalkeeper, but cat-girl Rin gleefully leapt in front while wolfing down the potato chips with no recoils!

Both Hikari and Rin stood on opposing sides; the ground shook, rumbled with particles of dust and rocks erupted from the ground comically as Hikari panted on one side. Rin continuously chowed down the bag of chips on the other side, oblivious to Hikari's towering anger and frustration.

Hikari unleashed flurries of high-speed punches towards Rin as the latter dodged blow after blow that the former could launch; an innumerable amount of white dust clouded them in the catfight.

Chris, Alito, Hanayo, and Cordelia facepalmed and sighed with a big drop of sweat dripped from their hair.

"Uhhhh...just how worst can our days get?" Hanayo wondered.

"Beats me..." Cordelia, Chris, and Alito replied in unison.

(Scene ends with Hikari attempting to catch Rin on freeze-frame.)


	15. Eat or be Eaten II!

_**Chapter 15: Eat or be Eaten II!**_

"Give it back, give it back, give it back!" Hikari yelled, but Rin continuously dodged past every uppercut, hook, and sweeping punches the former fifth Yuko Oshima could throw at her.

Shortly after, both Rin and Hikari stood on opposite sides once more while panting heavily. Their eyes becoming pale and their irises were nowhere to be seen; one fuelled with rage and one filled with hunger. The ground erupted with auras of their emotions once more.

Chris, Alito, Cordelia and Hanayo's eyes perked when they heard the door's huge slam once more and saw a familiar dark purple hair maiden.

"Akira!" Chris shot out with interest. Akira Igrashi was the graduated tenth Sayaka Akimoto, now in SKB0048.

"Yoshi! Hey...that seems really lively today!" the woman wondered.

"Akira, those two are fighting non-stop; please stop them or they might thrash this place apart!" Hanayo worryingly shot back.

"Hold on, that might not be a great idea..." Cordelia frowned.

Akira approached the catfight with a suave of confidence. "Oi, you lots had better break up with that fighting!"

"NYAAAAAAAHHHH!"

"YAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

***PAWUNCH!***

Hanayo and Hikari's fists accidentally landed upon Akira's face, denting it like a professional fighter punching a sheet of iron.

The two women froze on the spot as soon as they realised the person whom they have truly punched.

Their eyes became two small circles of fright and fear. Their feet trembled as they saw Akira's agonized expression transformed into an ominous grin; her mouth etched into an evil grin and she crackled her knuckles. Two devil-like horns emerged from her head and a devil-like tail sprouted from her butt, and her hair became flayed like a mad maiden gone loose from an asylum.

Akira's eyes glinted as she soon saw red and bellowed, "Both of you...SHUT YOUR TRAP RIGHT NOOOOOWWWW!"

The entire Adventurers Guild shook violently as two yelping screams pierced through the windows and into the pale, cloudy afternoon skies.

_**Shortly after...**_

"You girls should be ashamed of yourselves! For all the places to be fighting in, it has to be in the Guild; isn't it loud and exciting enough for the both of you?" Akira proceeded on with scolding both Hikari and cat-girl Rin.

_(SFX: Nag...nag...nag...)_

Chris, Alito, Hanayo, and Cordelia helped one another in cleaning up the torn and messy room.

As Akira continuously nagged at them, Hikari and Rin traded sights with their darting eyes on each other.

_**(Two green rectangles showed both Hikari and Rin eyeing each other.)**_

"You do have some guts to take my favourite snacks! Aie...what the heck, you're good!" Hikari whispered.

"Nyaaaa..." Rin grunted with content.

"I won't lose next time!" Hikari warned cheekily.

"Nyaaaa!" Rin grinned.

Suddenly, two hands intersected in the middle and pried the two green rectangles forcefully. Both Rin and Hikari gasped in shock; their eyes became white and squiggly with fear and their spines tingled with fear upon seeing Akira's 'trademark demon' appearance.

Akira's long dark purple hair morphed into two short devilish horns and her eyes crackled with an evil glint. A huge purple aura surrounded her body as a huge, ominous wind howled through the entire room.

"So...you dare to chit-chat while I'm lecturing ya 'all?" Akira grinned and chuckled evilly.

"S...S...Sorry...!" both Hikari and Rin embraced each other and trembled in fright, just as Akira delivered a single smash upon their heads!

After an hour of scolding, Akira punished both Hikari and Rin by commanding them to rearrange several stacks of books in the Reading Room and cleaning the room's interior.

"Dang it...tis bag of books is so heavy...Fancy that after a hard day at work." Hikari procrastinated.

"Nyaaaa..." Rin approached Hikari, touched her right hand, bit the bag's right handle, and gave a soft mew.

Hikari gave a short, satisfied chuckle and held the left handle.

"Heh...thanks there, mate! C'mon, let's get it down quickly so we can rest up for the day; really getting tired..." Hikari grinned and yawned softly.

"Nyaaa!" Rin nodded rapidly as the two women took off to place the remaining bag of books upon the bookshelves. Both of them laughed heartily along as they helped each other out with the remaining books that they had to carry.

Both Rin and Hikari slumped on the floor after their chore's completion, laughing softly. They were tired, but happy.

"Ya know, Rin...you're quite cute for a cat-girl..." Hikari softly whispered.

"Nyaaaaaa..." Rin replied in content.

"And you're quite the troll, eh? Stealing my food from me; you sure have guts!" Hikari grinned.

"Nya!" Rin winked.

"Next time...let's see who gets to eat the most amount of food before we feel bloated, eh?" Hikari smirked.

"Nyaaaaa!" Rin returned the smirk in kind; a soft glint appeared upon her left eye.

Soon enough, Chris and Alito entered the Reading Room while holding up three bottles of fruit juices.

"It's been a hard day's work for the both of you; here's some drinks as a sign of appreciation..." Chris smiled softly.

"We have two peaches and one apples...so who wants some?" Alito smiled calmly.

Both Hikari and Rin's eyes perked up - they loved apples, but only one was left...

The two women's eyes looked at each other, smirked, and acting upon their promises, pounced upon Chris and Alito for the only bottle of apple juice!

Chris shook her head and sighed in amusement before she was knocked down.

"They will never learn, eh? Them greedy pigs...WOAH! Aye! Get off me!"

Alito stood beside Chris and chuckled.


End file.
